Sector gear for rod wrapping machine

ABSTRACT

A sector gear for use in a rod wrapping machine has a wide outer rim from which narrower sector gear teeth project, a central wall extending inward from said rim forming the sides of a radial channel and curving about to form a central space, and a web extending between said rim and said central wall forming an end of said gear, said rim, web and central wall forming an opening to receive a bobbin carried by said sector gear.

[ 1 Feb. 15,1972

United States Patent Bishop et al.

1,269,247 7/1961 France.......................................242/4 [54] SECTOR GEAR FOR ROD WRAPPING MACHINE [72] Inventors: John M. Bishop, Orange; Emmett F. jz if'g lzii lgligg Taylor Simon, Garden Grove, both of Calif.

The Conolon Corporation Mar. 2, 1970 [57] ABSTRACT A sector gear for use in a rod wrapping machine has a wide outer rim from which narrower sector gear teeth project, a central wall extending inward from said rim forming the sides [73] Assignee:

[22] Filed:

[21] App1.No.:

of a radial channel and curving about to form a central space, 5 and a web extending between said rim and said central wall 723, 4 6 forming an end of said gear, said rim, web and central wall [52] US. [51] Int. Cl. [58] Field of forming an opening to receive a bobbin carried by said sector gear.

2 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures [56] References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPIJCATIONS France.......................................242/4 PATENTEUFEB 15 I972 SECTOR GEAR FOR ROD WRAPPING MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention provides an improved sector gear for use in a rod wrapping machine as shown and described in our U.S. Pat. No. 3,448,506.

2. Description of the Prior Art As shown in FIG. 33 of the above-identified patent, sector gear 364 has a filament holding bracket 371 fixed to project inward for substantially the radius of its large central opening. This bracket 371 and gear 364 are driven to rapidly rotate relative to winding head 346. As is also shown in FIG. 31 of this patent, rod gripping mechanism 339 holds a rod 401 in the center of the sector gear 341 to be wound with a filament as mechanism 340 positions an eye adjacent to the rod 401 to be thus secured thereto. If a rod 401 is improperly secured by mechanism 339 or breaks loose from it during winding, the rod 401 will be flung about and broken by the rotating sector gears 364 and an operator may easily be injured. Further, the projecting brackets 371 may strike the hand of an operator.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A sector gear for use in a rod wrapping machine has an outer rim from which gear teeth project, a central wall extending inward from said rim forming the sides of a radial channel and curving to form a central space, and a web extending between said rim and said central wall at one end of said sector gear, said rim, web, and central wall forming an opening to receive a bobbin carried by said sector gear.

The sector gear of this invention is safer in that it is less like- 1y to injure the hand of an operator as it has no large inward projections. Further, it tends to hold or confine a loose rod within its small central opening if the rod is improperly secured or breaks free. Thus the rod will not be broken to damage the rod wrapping machine or injure an operator with flying pieces. It also provides a protected interior cavity in which a filament bobbin may be secured to rotate with the sector gear.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a side view, partly broken away in section, of a winding head of a rod wrapping machine having a sector gear according to this invention mounted therein, a bobbin being shown in dotted lines secured within the sector gear; and

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 generally corresponds to FIG. 33 of the above identified patent. Where possible, the same reference numbers are used to identify the same parts. Winding head 346' has a flat frame plate 362 with a circular bearing flange 363 to rotatably mount the sector gear 10. A splined or angular shaft 325 extends slidably through head 346 and gear 365 to drive it. An idler gear 366 mounted on shaft 367 engages gear 365 and a driven gear 368 mounted on shaft 369. The gears 365 and 368 mesh with the teeth 11 of the sector gear to drive it during a winding cycle.

A tie-off mechanism 374 mounted on air cylinder 378 is provided as shown. Rod gripping jaws 406 and 407 are identical to those shown in FIG. 32 of the above-identified patent and an eye positioning mechanism 340 having an eye holder 399 is identical to the same elements as shown in FIG. 39 of the above-identified patent.

The sector gear 10 of this invention has a cylindrical outer rim 12 from which the teeth 11 project. A rear web 13 extends inward from one edge of rim 12 to form an end of gear 10. A radial channel 14 is bounded by the walls 15 and 16 which extend inward to the central wall 17 which curves about the central space 18 in which rod 407 is disposed.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a bobbin 20 delivers a filament (not shown) throu h the aperture 21 formed in web 13 to be wound about a ro 407 by a winding tip 371 which is fixed to gear 10. Bobbin 20 is held within sector gear 10 by a bar 23 pivoted about a post 24. A magnet 25 fixed to angle bracket 26 holds bar 23 in the closed position shown. Bar 23 is cut away at 27 to accommodate the rounded side of a cylindrical bobbin 20. A projecting lug 29 of bobbin 20 may be slidably received in a longitudinal slot 31 formed in the inner surface of rim 12. An annular step 30, as shown in FIG. 2, may be provided to take up end thrust of gear 10 when it is rotatably mounted in frame plate 362.

The wide rim 12 of gear 10 provides a large bearing surface and thus a longer operating life. The particular structure of gear 10 makes the rod wrapping machine much safer as it is less likely to throw an accidentally released or poorly secured rod from the machine in pieces. Further, the gear 10 has no elements which project to an extreme degree to catch the hand or clothing of an operator. It also provides a recess to receive a bobbin.

What is claimed is:

1. In a rod wrapping machine for winding elongated articles with a filament in different portions, the machine having a plurality of winding head frames mounted to be laterally movable, each frame containing a central opening and a radial opening leading to said central opening, a sector gear having an opening and being rotatably mounted in the central opening of each frame, elongated articles to be wound being laterally inserted through the radial openings in said frames and the openings in said sector gears to extend through the openings in said frames, two drive gears mounted on each frame meshing with a sector gear, said drive gears being spaced apart about each of said sector gears a distance greater than the openings in said sector gears, means driving said drive gears to rotate said sector gears, said means driving said drive gears also moving said frames laterally during winding, and filament dispensing means on each of said sector gears rotating about the elongated article to wind filaments about portions of the elongated article; the improvement comprising, in combination, said sector gears each having an outer rim containing an opening, gear teeth projecting from said outer rim, a central wall extending inward from opening in said outer rim forming the sides of a radial channel and curving to form a central space, and a web extending between said central wall and said rim forming an end of said sector gear, said central wall and said rim being substantially the same width.

2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said filament dispensing means is a bobbin, said bobbin being disposed within the cavity formed by said rim, said central wall, and said web, said web containing an aperture through which filament from said bobbin passes. 

1. In a rod wrapping machine for winding elongated articles with a filament in different portions, the machine having a plurality of winding head frames mounted to be laterally movable, each frame containing a central opening and a radial opening leading to said central opening, a sector gear having an opening and being rotatably mounted in the central opening of each frame, elongated articles to be wound being laterally inserted through the radial openings in said frames and the openings in said sector gears to extend through the openings in said frames, two drive gears mounted on each frame meshing with a sector gear, said drive gears being spaced apart about each of said sector gears a distance greater than the openings in said sector gears, means driving said drive gears to rotate said sector gears, said means driving said drive gears also moving said frames laterally during winding, and filament dispensing means on each of said sector gears rotating about the elongated article to wind filaments about portions of the elongated article; the improvement comprising, in combination, said sector gears each having an outer rim containing an opening, gear teeth projecting from said outer rim, a central wall extending inward from opening in said outer rim forming the sides of a radial channel and curving to form a central space, and a web extending between said central wall and said rim forming an end of said sector gear, said central wall and said rim being substantially the same width.
 2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said filament dispensing means is a bobbin, said bobbin being disposed within the cavity formed by said rim, said central wall, and said web, said web containing an aperture through which filament from said bobbin passes. 